Reflections on my summer so far....

Today was my first "official" day of summer vacation!

I've spent the last three weeks teaching for the Department of Education in TN.  To those familiar with TN, it was part of the summer TN Core trainings.  This year, our training focused heavily on ELA tier 1 teaching. I took lots of pictures and want to share some of the most memorable activities that we did.

During the training, we stressed the importance of teaching vocabulary.  Did you know that over 50% of reading comprehension is tied to the student's ability to understand vocabulary?  It isn't about teaching a list of words from the story, it is about helping the kids use their context clues and learn vocabulary as it is embedded into the text.

Crazy... when you think that so many of us give out a list of words to study each week and test them with a matching test on Friday.  NO MORE!   Each week I will be testing the kids on their ability to understand the vocabulary in a new text and writing about it.

Here is a way to help the kiddos "dissect" vocabulary within the text.  This is a "tier 2 word" from the story Lon Po Po.   Tier 2 words are high frequency/multi-meaning words.  If you haven't read about vocabulary tiers yet, just google it.  Very good information to have and it will change your vocabulary instruction!

The format for this acitvity is always the same.  The word and a picture are at the top.  In the next section, they define the word in their own words.  Next, they write a sentence.  The last section is the actual word taken from the context of the story.

I've used this activity in my classroom at the end of the year and the kids LOVED IT!

We also spent some time working on using close reading and repeated reading.  I have to admit, before this training I don't think that I spend enough time rereading text over the course of several days, so it will certainly be something that I focus on this year.  I have already picked out a bunch of books to help the kids uncover the multiple layers of meaning throughout the book.

We stressed the you don't have to reread the whole story.   After the first read through, you can reread smaller sections to help the kids really connect the meaning/purpose of the story.  So the first day you start off by reading the whole thing, then on rereads you can either read a small section or specific part.  

We had lots of fun creating these posters during our discussion.

Another area we talked about was decoding.  So much of our instruction seems to be using isolated lists of words.  We encouraged our teachers to try and write a text for the students to read using a specific pattern/sound.  Here are some of the examples, that they wrote in less than 5 minutes.    While we discussed the benefits of using this in our classroom, we saw how easy you could differentiate this for your best readers... having them write their own TEXT!  This allows those already reading fluently to still participate during this type of activity.   How cool would it be for the class to decode a text that was written by a classmate?

Another activity we did to practice decoding was to break a story apart on sentence strips.  The students read their strip and together they work to put the story in the correct order.  It was more challenging than you think!  I tried this with my kids in May and they couldn't get enough of it!  They worked in teams to write their own 10 sentence story and for the next 4 days we practiced this activity with the stories they wrote.  Doesn't get much better than that!  Here are some teachers trying the strategy out. This was a favorite of my teacher participants!

This wasn't actually in my training, but I saw it in another room and had to share.  You put sight words in the snack size ziplock bags.  Attach the bags together using tape on the back.  Then, you can mix the words up and change them out in a snap!  What a fantastic idea!

That is about all for today....
It has been a busy three weeks!

People always ask me why in the world I spend the first month of summer vacation teaching teachers? The answer is simple.....  I LOVE IT!  At the end of the 3 weeks I know that I've touched so many more classrooms and hopefully gave a few teachers some new ideas that will make their classrooms a better place!

Happy Teaching!
Tracy

Getting ready for testing!

April is right around the corner....  let the testing count down begin!

No matter how much we try, it always worries us!  Will those kiddos do good?
OF COURSE THEY WILL!

I really want to make this year as fun as I can while we spend time reviewing.  We are going to have table contests daily.  I'm using little cheap buckets from the Dollar Tree and every time someone from the table gets a correct answer their team gets a coin.  I'm going to use the plastic coins we have in our math kits. At the end of the day we count up our money to see who has the most.  The winners get a treat on the way out the door!  So simple and they love it!

We also made an anchor chart for answering multiple choice questions.  We went over this everyday this week and it made a big difference for my low kiddos when we took Friday tests.

I have been working on some big projects and tonight with the help of my teaching buddy who did the editing for me, they are finally ready to go!

I wanted a set of games that my on-level kids could play during RTI time.  I only have one student in RTI, but I pull a few friends to his small group time who need the extra practice.  So that leaves about 15 friends that need something to do.  It is always a challenge to keep everyone on task and a little quiet.

The packet has 4 pre-made games and one blank game.  I am planning to use the blank one for my advanced kids.  A few weeks ago I had them make a math game and they loved it.  So, when I was creating this packet I made a set that they could use to create games.  We are learning all about pronouns next week, so their first challenge will be a pronoun game!  I can't wait to see what they come up with!

The pre-made games cover phonics, story elements, language, and reference book skills.  All of the stuff on SAT10 that we need to keep fresh in our minds!

The game boards come in color and black and white!

These are the game cards.  One from each of the different games!

Story Elements!

                    

Phonics!

Reference Books!

Grammar!

Differentiation is a big deal for my class!  I want everyone to be engaged.  I knew that my advanced kids would enjoy the pre-made games, but I knew they would finish quickly and might need a challenge.  These are two of the projectable pages to use to make your own game.  It also has blank game boards and cards.  I will review the directions with them and the leave the example page up for them to refer back to while they work.

We also had a great time this week playing SCOOT!  My kids love it!  They are always so quiet and on task when we play.  We practiced contractions and telling time.  I print off the cards and laminate them. I let my weekly helper tape them all over the walls of the classroom in the morning before we get started.  We grab clipboards and away we go!  They jump right to work and move so quietly! SCOOT might be the best game I ever learned!  Here is a picture I snapped real quick when 2 kiddos were at the same card and using their pencils to count by 5's.  LOVE IT!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Happy Teaching!
Tracy

Testing Time!

Like it or not....  it is testing time!  With the stakes so high everyone is feeling the pressure.  From the teachers, to the kids, parents, and everyone who works in every building within a school system.  How do we make it as easy as we can for the kids?  That is the million dollar question.

I try really hard to make these next few weeks as fun as I can.  We go outside and use sidewalk chalk to practice our computation skills, ABC order, and even some questions that just require them to listen and write a,b,c, or d.  (I think those might be the toughest of all!)

I'm going to phase in the "review" slowly over the next few weeks.  Tomorrow we return from spring break and we will start the ball rolling by reviewing this anchor chart.

We give the SAT10 and honestly I have never been happy with the test prep materials that we had.  So I created my own materials that I use.  We use color cards (inside that packet) to signal our answers.
The kids seem to love this.  I think it is because they don't have to write anything and we make a big deal about waiting to the exact moment to show your answer.  Sometimes I have them press their card on their tummies and come and show me.  That really helps everyone feel comfortable and know it is OK to make mistakes when we review.  That's why we do it!

I was so pleased with the math.  It has a little bit of everything!  I tried to ask the questions different ways and put lots of answers in that would be correct if they did the computation wrong.  This is something we all need to work on.  We really push NOT looking at the answers and then doing the problems a second time to make sure that you are right.  Click on the picture to see more about this resource.

This is the ELA review.  It was a labor of love.  It took a great deal of research to pin point all of the different skills that the test might cover.  Each skill is identified at the top of the page and then you have several different samples of that type of problem.  We work on this packet a little differently than the math.  We work all the problems on the page and get our answers.  Then, we check in with our partner and compare our answers.  Finally, we work through them as a class.  We do a lot of talking and reasoning out the right answers.  Helping the kids understand that a problem might have an answer that is right, but this other answer is even a better choice is so hard for them.  Click on the picture to see more.

If you like these packets, they are also available in a bundle to save you some money!  Here is the link:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Grade-2-Lang-ArtsMath-Test-Prep-Bundle-Standardized-Testing-and-SAT-10-628608

If you teach 1st or 3rd....  NO WORRIES!  I have also written packets for those grades as well.

First Grade Bundle:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Grade-1-Test-Prep-Bundle-Math-and-ELA-great-for-SAT-10-1152301

Third Grade:  (Math Only)
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Grade-3-Math-Test-Prep-Get-Ready-for-Standardized-Testing-1040795

Well this teacher needs to spend some family time with the boys before it is back to work tomorrow!

Happy Teaching!
Tracy

The Joys of an Inservice Day!

Today was a district learning day for us!  Some of the joys......

1.  Bringing everyone on my grade level Chick-fil-A!  Another team teacher brought Sonic drinks.  Our day was off to a great start!  It is so funny how a little food makes teachers so happy!

2.  Finding out that I was doing lots of things RIGHT!  GOLD STAR FOR ME!  Sometimes it is just nice to know that you are doing things right.  What I think I love the most is when another teacher is talking about something they are doing in their classroom that is working for them and you think I'm doing it in my classroom too!  And YES it is working.  It gives you the motivation to keep doing it because you know it is working and now you have heard from someone else that thinks it is working also!

3.  Lunch out like a real grown-up!  We ate so fast that we had tons of time to sit and chat since we had an hour for lunch.  I think that no matter what the situation teacher eats fast.  I learned a few new things about my teammates and we had a bunch of laughs!

4.  Learned about a book that I must read...  Teach Like a Champion.  I just ordered it on Amazon.  We had a presentation on parts of it and it was interesting.  It had a lot of different questioning ideas and who can't use some more ideas to make our questioning even better!  I just finished the last Alex Cross book, so time to read something professional.

My school was assigned to do a presentation on phonics.  Well phonics is certainly not what this TN Core Math coach is strong at, but I figured why not give it a try.  So I turned to my favorite place.... PINTEREST to find the best ideas I could that teachers could actually use without spending a lot of money.  Here are some of my favorites that I will be using in the classroom in the next two months to prepare for SAT10 testing.  You can click the picture to go directly to source where I found these AMAZING IDEAS!

I love this sorting game.  It is so much better than anything I already have because not only is it for long and short vowels, it has a set that doesn't belong in either category.  Great for my higher level kids that are so used to things being easy.

Here is another fantastic idea that hits so many different skills and brings a personal connection for the kids.  We will pick a name from a hat each day right before the test to help us get some extra review in on syllables and phonemes.  You could segmenting, name another word that has the same vowel sound you hear in the middle of their name, or anything else you need practice on.  How much fun will the kids have with this great idea?

Teaching prefix and suffix is always a tough skill for kiddos.  I made these last year before testing time and they really got a lot out of the activity.  You make rainbows focusing on either prefix and suffix.  

So that is some of my favorite activities from my presentation today.  Please click on the pictures to go to the amazing teachers that came up with these ideas.  I don't think I have ever tried searching for something on Pinterest that I can't find 10 things that I would love to do with my kids!  Please feel free to share your favorite phonics ideas in the comments.   

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Teaching!

Tracy